Happy Snow Day French Toast

I think I’ve started a tradition to make French Toast on snow days.  It started last year, and then my brain went there again last night while the first flakes began to fall.  There are many things to love about French Toast (one being that it is bread), but what’s wonderful about it from a cook’s perspective is that you can make it the night before and just griddle it the next morning.  The longer is sits to soak up the custard, the better it will be.  

I woke up this morning to a quiet house lit delicately by the blanket of snow outside my window.  The kids were still asleep, and my husband and I made our coffee and cooked up the breakfast I had prepared the night before while I sipped bourbon in my pajamas and slippers.

I like my French Toast naked, like I like my pancakes.  And also how I like my mornings (*wink, wink*)  I don’t use syrup, I don’t use powdered sugar, I often don’t even use a fork. (Unless I’m in public and I have to.)  For whatever reason, I have always eaten my pancakes and my French Toast like I eat my bread.  So I always make sure the custard is seasoned properly and therefore not in need of the extra bump of sweetness from a condiment later on.  But that’s just me.

Weird and complicated me.

And… I don’t have an exact recipe for you, because… well… frankly, I never follow one for French Toast.  (But click here for the lazy one I posted last year using a can of sweetened condensed milk) But here’s what my post bourbon brain can tell you I did…

I took my biggest baking dish- (11 x 15 pyrex) and cracked 4 eggs in to it (why use a mixing bowl?)…

Then I whisked in about 1 1/2-2 cups of whole milk, I went shy at first, and added more later after I put the bread slices in…

Then I seasoned it with a couple, fat pinches of kosher salt, about 3 TB light brown sugar, a good sprinkling of ground cinnamon, lots of freshly grated nutmeg, and a good splash of vanilla extract…

Once that was whisked well together, I laid in thick slices of 1 loaf of Challah bread (I cut diagonally so I get larger pieces)…

I soaked up one side before flipping the pieces over and soaking the other.  If I saw dry spots, I added more milk.  The idea is that you have no dry spots anywhere.

Then I wrapped the dish in plastic, put it in the fridge, opened up a bottle of wine and settled in to my evening.

I hope wherever you are today, you make sure and have a lovely one.

And make it delicious.

And possibly naked.

xoxo, Abbey

CHALLAH FRENCH TOAST

minus the proper recipe underneath